Minecraft

When I began writing this piece, I originally went in with a different motif: I was thinking to myself (as we nerdy types often do) what game properties I wanted to see become film franchises. Granted, for every half-decent movie (Resident Evil) we get what amounts to horrible, slow-rotting leprosy (Street Fighter: The Legend of Chun-Li). I had my comprehensive list all typed up, I had my points arranged, and I was ready to fire it off. Somehow, in the midst of my research, I had managed to miss the fact that three out of four of my choices had already been tentatively announced.

These days it’s somewhat rare for a PC exclusive to cause a mass amount of hype prior to release, but a little game called Minecraft went on to change all of that. Since becoming a mega hit that has gone on to sell an ungodly high number of copies on XBLA, Minecraft may no longer be a PC exclusive but 0x10c, the follow-up game from Minecraft creators Notch and Mojang, is still bound for the PC first so there’s going to be some excitement over the next year or so.

Porting a title is no easy task... especially if it’s coming from PC. There are certain variables that often don’t work on consoles as they do on its computer counterpart. 4J Studios, Mojang and Notch had their hands full when they positioned the idea of moving Minecraft to the Xbox 360. While a few features didn’t make the cross over, Minecraft: Xbox 360 Edition is a near flawless transition.

The Pros:

+ The essence of Minecraft wasn't lost in transition

+ An innovative crafting experience is introduced

+ Split screen co-operative play

The Cons:

- Movement can be a bit iffy at times

- Inventory cursor lacks the accuracy of a mouse

ShogunGamer.com Rating :

8

Oh Minecraft... how I resented playing you for the longest time, for fear that I would be absorbed into your blocky world. Coming into the Xbox edition I was slightly worried as to how 4J Studios and Mojang would tackle some of the challenges Minecraft brings with it. For example, gaming with a mouse and keyboard often brings its share of bonuses. Minecraft is also very user friendly as it allows gamers to enhance their play with the addition of mods. A personalized touch can go a long way.

Last year’s E3 left many fans on the edge of their seat and today we can tell you Minecraft Xbox 360 Edition will launch in a promotion pack in early May.

Arcade Next will include four games, which will launch every Wednesday, beginning on April 18and ending on May 9. This seems to be a growing element on the Xbox, one that will continue into the future. We already know the Summer of Arcade will be making a triumphant return in a few months.

Happy Friday all! It looks like we all managed to make it to the weekend, so here’s to celebrating with some good friends, good video games and (if you’re of the persuasion, and of age) a good strong drink. Today in TL;DR I recap a couple of stories that caught my attention including: Assassin’s Creed III’s leaked (in-game) images, Notch giving away $3 million dollars to his employees, and GAME’s calculated losses for not being able to stock Mass Effect 3.

This has to be one of the quickest turnarounds I’ve seen for a major piece of video game merchandise as today Lego has unveiled the first set based on the ever popular Minecraft series. Late last year Mojang revealed they were in talks with Lego about possibly producing a Minecraft line of products and subsequently such a thing was confirmed.

The Minecraft phenomenon has completely blown up now and unlike other games or fads it doesn’t look to be slowing down anytime soon. Thanks to the freedom Minecraft allows, which results in people creating versions of the weeping angels from Doctor Who, gamers are completely infatuated with everything Minecraft. We’ve already seen some Minecraft products hit the market like foam axes, but now something truly cool and somewhat fitting could happen: a series of Lego toys based on Minecraft.

Since it’s the weekend and I decided to take a break from writing my latest review, I came across something I wanted to share with all the fine readers of Shogun Gamer. For the past year or so Minecraft has taken ahold of the gaming community since it’s an addicting game and it allows people to further show their creativity, whether it’s through building a decadent castle or recreating the Starship Enterprise in a 1:1 match right down to including every single engine room. Maybe I’m surprised by this new Minecraft mod because I don’t follow the community as intensively as I do o

Shogun Gamer’s always been a fan of indie efforts. We’ve done what we can to promote projects that started out small, and wound up big (read: TOROcast and Pokémon Apokélypse). That love of the indie world, the fight for the small guy, etc. and that extends to our love for indie gaming… Which is why I’m kind of surprised (and appalled) that I haven’t mentioned to our readers before about the Humble Indie Bundle.

My relationship with Minecraft is an interesting one in a way. I’ve seen some friends play Minecraft and show me their ever expanding villages or castles but I have never once played the game, despite my utter amazement of the game. I do have a lot of interest in Minecraft as it does look like a cool albeit time consuming way to build cool stuff with my key dream project being recreating the island from the TV show Lost.